Wednesday, January 16, 2013

US Prohibition Day

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By Diane Forrest

My son recently took a new job and had to move to a
different town 45 miles away, although he is still located in the state.After moving into his new home, he wanted to
pick up a bottle of champagne to celebrate with his wife.As he drove around the town, he couldn't
locate a liquor store.He quickly
learned that the town he had just moved to was located in a dry county.This did not prove too much of a problem, as
the nearby county where alcohol could be sold, was only a couple of miles down
the road.

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The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture, sale and importation of intoxicating
liquors, was ratified on 16 January 1919.The proponents of prohibition had believed that banning alcoholic
beverages would reduce or even eliminate many social problems, particularly
drunkenness, crime, mental illness, and povertySome supporters also believed that prohibition would eventually lead to
reductions in taxes, since drinking "produced half the business" for
institutions supported by tax dollars such as courts, jails, hospitals,
almshouses, and insane asylums.In fact,
alcohol consumption and the incidence of alcohol-related domestic violence were
decreasing before the 18th Amendment was adopted. Following the imposition of
prohibition, reformers "were dismayed to find that child neglect and
violence against children actually increased during the Prohibition era."

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During Prohibition, people continued to produce and drink
alcohol, and bootlegging helped foster a massive industry completely under the
control of organized crime. Drinking in speakeasies became increasingly
fashionable, and many mothers worried about the allure that alcohol and other
illegal activities associated with bootlegging would have over their
children.An estimated $861,000,000 was
lost in federal tax revenue from untaxed liquor; $40 million dollars was spent
annually on Prohibition enforcement.

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In 1933, Prohibition was repealed, and by 1966, all
states had repealed their state-wide Prohibition laws, with Mississippi the
last state to do so, and there are still 200 counties that still remain
"dry".

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In November, Washington State approved the use of
Marijuana in their state.With the
history of Alcohol, prohibition, speakeasies and mobsters, this makes me wonder
what the future holds for the Drug Lords, war on Drugs and the use of
Marijuana.The more things change, the
more they stay the same.

P.S.
from the boss – can and will America learn from the past or will they head down
this road once again? New Gun controls come to mind.